When I’m talking to companies about the creation of social media strategies and tactics, a key element is making sure they follow through on their commitment. After all, it makes no sense to spend time and money on a social media plan, and then not implement it properly.
While I’m more than happy to carry the social media “ball” after putting together a strategic and tactical plan, it’s crucial to hand off the ball at some point to someone within the company who can then run with it. After all, who better to do social media than someone who is drinking the corporate Kool-Aid, right?
This is where the director of community comes into play. These people are social media savvy, excellent communicators and writers, capable of dealing with a variety of responsibilities, able to multi-task, and have an appreciation for a company’s marketing, communications and sales strategies.
In other words, they need a well-rounded skill set, AND be given enough autonomy by senior management to do things on the fly given how quickly the social media landscape can change.
One of of the challenges is many companies don’t have enough of an appreciation of what’s involved in doing social media well. Rather than hiring someone with experience and a strong sets of skills, many companies think they can hire someone junior at a low cost, especially at a time when hiring a full-time employee is done with reluctance.
That can be a major mistake because a good director of community can be worth their weight in gold.
Of course, the directory of community is a relatively new position so finding someone with experience can be a challenge. As a result, there can be an element of risk, and companies have to accept that directors of community may have to learn on the job. Still, a good director of community needs to have a core set of skills if they’re going to be successful.
The bottom line is companies have to realize that hiring a directory of community is an important strategic decision. It means they need to hire the right person even if it means paying for quality.
For more thoughts on hiring a director of community, check out Hightalk.
More: Check out this Web Worker Daily presentation on what community managers do.
Technorati Tags: community, social media
6 Comments
A really interesting post Mark, though for me the most interesting part was when you were talking about creating a strategy and then handing it off.
Personally, I’m of the opinion that the strategy should never be handed-off because the person who will be maintaining it should be working hand in hand, step by step from day one on the strategy as well.
I realize that many companies may not be this well prepared. Your thoughts on this might make for a good blog post itself.
Community Manager + Recession = First to go…
I saw a lot of companies dump their community managers in November.
Spot on Mark!
And Jamie, you are ASOLUTELY correct with regard to the recent dumping of Community Managers (and Directors of Community). I know, I was one of the dumped, and a few friends of mine also had it happen to them all in the last few months.
Meanwhile, those remaining have had the duties tossed onto them, regardless of desire, training and experience. Additionally, a lot of companies who were looking at bringing in someone are now holding off even though they have competitors who have someone in the role already.
Drew,
You’re right about having someone internal involved in the strategic and tactical process. To hand off the ball out of the blue would be a good way to make sure a social media plan doesn’t work out.
Hi Mark,
As a director of community myself, I think you make great points about some of the skills and characteristics of someone in these kinds of positions. I like to refer to my role as a bit of a hybrid discipline: a bit of customer service, business development, communications and social director all wrapped into one.
And while some of these roles have fallen victim to the economic crisis, I still maintain that they’re significant and impactful for companies. They’re not yet seen by many as essential, however, but I think that’s going to change over the next few years in a significant way.
I’m so glad, though, that you mentioned the part about social media not being “easy”. It’s not easy. It takes time, work, management, and investment of time and resources. Positions like this aren’t for those that want to punch a clock, or have an air-tight job description. It’s a multifaceted role, and for some of us, it’s the perfect fit.
Thanks for a great discussion; would welcome a conversation on the topic anytime.
Cheers,
Amber Naslund
Director of Community | Radian6
@AmberCadabra
Also, many companies which do value the importance of community management seem to want to meld/merge the role with that of marketing, something that i’m not sure is a really good idea.